I was a middle aged tub of lard!

No, I can’t help you develop your abs.

2012-01-29T14:21:00.001-08:00

How did we ever get here? Those of us with big bellies, I mean.
Well, if we really think about it, we all know the answer. We got here little by little. A little ice cream, a little more ice cream, some cookies, a nap on the couch instead of basketball with your friends, and thousands of hamburgers.

All that adds up to, my belly. That’s been a very difficult for me since starting this workout program.

People have so many stupid ideas about weight loss and fitness. Many of these people actually get their ideas out there on the television. So here we are, no longer in our twenties, bellies protruding, and the television is telling us that we could look like the guy with the twenty inch waist and the sculpted abs and his pants pulled down below his hips, and all in just two to six weeks.

Just as bad is our neighbor who warns us that sit ups can cause a pot belly. Who ever heard of that? Did you ever hear anybody say: “yea, my belly has REALLY grown bigger since I’ve started doing sit ups!”????

Ridiculous!

Just keep being active. Be faithful to whatever physical activity appeals to you. Keep working out. Give it time. You’ll see results.

I get frustrated when I see that my belly is still there. But then I remember that I haven’t really been very good with my diet yet, and that I’m 47 years old, and that I’ve had a big belly for years and years. I got here little by little for a very long time, and it just makes sense that I’ll have to get out of this situation little by little over years of time.

That’s what I want. I don’t want fast, dramatic results that will be very hard to maintain. I want permanent habits and a familiar lifestyle. I’m learning to enjoy exercise. That’s why I got started, and that’s why I’m going to continue. If my belly goes away in the process, I’ll be thrilled. If not, I’ll get a job as Santa Claus at the mall. But I’ll be a very fit, healthy and happy Santa Claus.

How long will this take?

2012-01-23T04:14:00.000-08:00

Ads for fitness programs and equipment on television give us the idea that sculpted abs and bulging biceps are just a few weeks away.

Possible? I don’t know. And I don’t care.

But I have been interested to learn the opinions of experts in the fields of exercise and fitness. These true opinions are hard to find. But my favorite experts all have shared thoughts about how much time it should take to develop that dream body.

Funny how right now the one thing everybody wants is a well-defined, tapered abdomen. What about strong legs, or a powerful back? I don’t know, but I would think that over all fitness should be the goal.

I like two things that Mike Chang has said.

First: If you get your entire body in shape, your abs will follow. You don’t need to “focus” on your abs.

Second: When you see someone on television or on tv that is in peak physical condition, they haven’t achieved this in just a few weeks. They look good because of years of good habits, proper diet, and lots of exercise.

Mike’s sarcastic answer to “How long should this take?” is: You should look pretty good after ten years.

The message is this: Make fitness a lifelong habit. Don’t try to work yourself to death for a few weeks hoping to look like a sexy movie star. Is it possible? Mike says that yes, there is a fast track to a good body if you’re willing to work that hard. But I don’t believe that exercise schedules like that are maintainable. One day you’ll stop. One day you’ll quit.

Still, when you exercise, you expect results. How long did it take me to see results? I saw results immediately. I felt better after just a few days. One of the first things I noticed was my double chin disappearing. Then I noticed my biceps shaping up. I noticed my stamina increasing and my posture improving. I liked that, and it definitely motivated me to continue.

Other changes were more gradual. I noticed an overall sense of wellbeing. My appetite changed and my diet was affected. I didn’t crave soda and sweets like I did before. I stopped over eating. And there were more physical changes. My shoulders broadened and developed. My chest squared up.

But my belly is still big and it pokes out over my pants. Do I pay attention to exercises that work my core? Sure I do. But I always remind myself that I am working out because it feels so good, and it’s fun, and I’m happy because I’m becoming more fit and healthy. Give me some time and my belly will look better. In fact, I think I’m going to look better and better overall. I just have to keep believing.

Olympic Exercises

2012-01-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid I always loved the weight lifting part of the Olympics. It was amazing to me to see those guys lift that incredible amount of weight over their heads. I loved how the bar bent and the cluster of weights at either end sagged as the exercise was executed.
My dad had a weight set and I would practice what I saw. I even got the neighborhood kids involved, organizing weightlifting competitions.
I could do them all. The “clean and press”, the “clean and jerk” and the “snatch”.
When I started my weight lifting routine last year, I never even considered doing any of the Olympic weight lifting exercises. Those routines are about massive amounts of weight, and are better left to stocky guys of Eastern European persuasion.
Or so I thought.
Then one day I was reading a book about weight lifting and fitness by the writers of Men’s Health Magazine that I had picked up at the library. They said that Olympic Exercises are perfect additions to anyone’s weight lifting routine. They are explosive exercises and are very healthy for the whole body, especially your core. The difference is that you work with a manageable amount of weight, and you don’t try to set Olympic or World weight lifting records.
They were right. I do barbell clean and presses and dumbbell clean and presses and I do the snatch and everything else. They are excellent exercises, and I highly recommend them.
I finish off my routine with leg curls, on that leg exercise thingy on my bench, and I do them face up and face down.
My favorite exercise of all is the one I end with. Dumbbell flies. I do them on the living room floor instead of on the bench for more stability. This is because I really like to do a lot of weight with the flies.
Some exercises, like flies and bench presses and curls, just plain feel manly. That’s okay. It’s important that your routine be a total body workout and that you work all your muscles, but it’s especially satisfying to work muscles that just make you feel manly.
Remember, I’m not advocating exercise as a path to fitness or health or fashion. I started lifting, and I continue to lift, strictly because it feels good. It’s fun, and it makes me happy. If working my pectoral or bicep muscles feels especially satisfying, then by all means I work extra weight and extra sets.
I believe working out is about rewarding ourselves and not punishing ourselves.

My first fitness video! Subject: Dealing with Macho!

2012-01-16T04:58:00.000-08:00

It's still kind of rough.
But I'm working the bugs out of the process, and I want to put up a lot of these, because I believe the visual aspect of watching my transformation will be very helpful.
So, let me konw what works and what doesn't.

A big part of my program is doing your workout at home. There are a lot of reasons for this, and we'll talk about all of them. In this video I talk about the discomfort some of us feel at the gym.
It's just not for me.
I do, however, think that the expert advise that you can only get at the gym is very important, and we'll find out how that all works into my plan when I make an appoint to workout with a professional trainer.
But for now I'm making great progress on my second hand weight bench in a spare bedroom in my own basement.

My routine continued:

2012-01-12T09:20:00.001-08:00

“Hey Darrell, are you still lifting those weights?” (grin grin, snicker snicker)

I swear, it’s every day.

We’ll talk about setbacks and road blocks later.

So, here’s more about what happens.

When last we talked, I was doing my warm up.

Sometimes I warm up with lighter weights.
I have two sets of dumbbells, one lighter and one heavier. As of this writing, the lighter ones are fifteen pounds and the heavier ones are thirty-five pounds. I believe in having lots of dumbbells, because they are the most used and most useful part of my set up. Dumbbells can replace barbells in most barbell exercises.
I also believe in having multiple sets of dumbbells and other equipment because I don’t like to take the time to change weight plates on the equipment. I am performing a circuit, or a complex. I don’t have time to rest or change the weight plates, so I have everything loaded exactly the way I want them. Then I move smoothly from one exercise to the next.
I am considering having a dedicated, single dumbbell with an extra heavy amount of weight on it for exercises like the clean and press.

Anyway, whether or not I have warmed up, I usually start with my light weight dumbbells. I have a flat bench where I do these exercises. I do pull overs and skull crushers and dumbbell flies and presses and curls.
Then I do triceps pull downs.
If you are unfamiliar with those terms, I highly recommend that you look them up.

After the light weight exercises, I do two sets of bench presses. I do two set of all my favorite exercises. Bench presses feel really good, and the results are immediate.

Next come the curl bar curls. Two sets of at least twenty five. The curl bar is a wonderful apparatus because it is stable and easy to grab and easy to work. The curl bar is inspiring. After my curl bar sets I feel like I can really accomplish something good.

Next are my hanging crunches. These are among my few non-weight exercises. I have a pull-up bar in the door way, and I take time here to do the hanging crunches. I saw someone in the gym doing these, and I could tell that they brought instant results. I love them. I have great hopes for my mid-section now. Pull-up bars are great, and you should really have one in your routine. If you couldn’t work with weights, but you COULD do pull-ups, you’d be in great shape.

This is all followed by a series of dumbbell exercises that you should look up.
Lawn mowers
Dumbbell Curls
Dumbbell Flies (heavy) (I do these lying on the floor instead of the bench, for more stability.)

Then I work my legs with the leg curl thingy. I do two sets face up, and two sets face down. Haven’t read much about these exercises, but most benches have this attachment, and I like the results.

Next we’ll talk about Olympic exercises.

The Deep End: Viking TV

2012-01-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Deep End: Viking TV

My Son-in-law is a famous cartoonist. This is one of his recent cartoons that will certainly become a favorite. Check his blog and his facebook page!

My Routine

2012-01-09T01:39:00.001-08:00

I love my routine. I look forward to it every other day.

There, that’s the first thing to know about my routine, I do it every other day.

I decided on that schedule because it felt right. I liked the “burn” I felt the day after working out. Then I did some investigation and found out that lots of people work out with weights every other day, because weights cause what is sometimes called “the 48 hour burn”. From what I gather, working out with weights burns calories for two days.

The next thing you should know about my routine is that I’m not a professional of any kind. I’m not a trainer, I’m not a therapist, and I’m not a doctor. I could be making lots of mistakes, and doing some things wrong. If you’re going to start a workout program of your own, SEEK OUT SOME PROFESSIONAL HELP. I’m just telling you what seems right to me right now. Later I’ll share some of the resources that have been helpful to me.

So here’s the actual routine:

I start by warming up and stretching. Jumping jacks, stretches, wind mills (from elementary school PE class) and windshield wipers (look it up) I’m mostly worried about my back (remember, I’m old) but I also don’t want to hurt my arms, elbow, or shoulders.

Then I hit my weights.

Here’s a couple of terms you hear a lot in weight lifting: “Three sets of eight”, and “reps to failure”.

As I studied weight lifting routines those two terms popped up again and again. I resist both of them.

I do two sets of 15 on most of my exercises. At least that’s my plan. Sometimes it’s one set of 50 reps. Sometimes it’s even one set of 15 reps. Depends on the exercise.

More importantly, I’m doing a kind of a circuit or complex. Maybe I don’t do it completely right, but the point of my routine is that it lasts for 30 minutes to 45 minutes and I move from one exercise to the next with very little rest in between. If heart really starts pounding and I’m gasping for breath, I rest a little more, or even better, I drink a little water. I’ve learned that staying hydrated during my work out is better than resting.

I’ll need another entry to talk about specific exercises and equipment, but what’s important to say right now is that the feeling is EXHILLERATING! My muscles turn red and I am quickly soaked in sweat. It feels great!

Do I do reps to failure? This means doing reps until you absolutely can’t do another, and you’re lifting absolutely as much weight as you can. At first I didn’t think so. Sometimes I feel like I could squeeze out one more rep if I really tried, but I’m working out alone, and I don’t have a spotter, so I don’t like to risk it. But I’m doing as many reps as I can.

Do I lift as much weight as I can? Some of my detractors have told me that I need to be lifting the maximum weight possible.

Well for example, I’m sure that if I had a spotter, I could bench press more than I am currently pressing. But it would just be a couple of reps. Right now I’m pressing as much as I can for 2 set of 15 reps without a spotter.

So I feel good about the maxims, “3 sets of 8”, and “reps to failure”

Opposition. (these are true stories)

2012-01-07T00:17:00.000-08:00

No one wants to hear about your new fitness program if you’re over forty.

When someone asks me: “What’s new??” I tell them that I’ve been working out.

That’s when they glaze over.

If I was young and handsome, then talking about exercise and fitness would be cool. But that’s not my story.

So some people politely ask me if I mean that I’ve been jogging.

No.

Maybe I’ve been going to the rec center to ride the elliptical machine?

No.

I’ve been lifting weights.

That’s when they snicker and shake their heads and try to change the subject.

Later they’ll ask me sarcastically: “Still lifting those weights?”

True story:

Weights and benches and other related equipment really hasn’t been in my budget, so I’ve been watching the classified ads, and I’ve been frequenting a second hand store in our area called “Deseret Industries”

Recently I was at the D.I. and found a couple of great 25lb barbell plates. There was an old man looking them over, and when he saw that I was interested in the plates as well, he backed out of my way. As I picked them up to leave, he started to talk.

“Those are nice ones! I had a friend. I worked with him. He retired. After he retired he bought one of those. A real nice one. I think I remember that it was 300 lbs. Every morning he would jump out of bed and lift that thing into the air over his head and hold it there for several minutes. It worked great for him. He got real strong. Then one morning, he jumped out of bed, and threw that thing over his head into the air, and ……. CRACK!”

The old guy pointed to his knee.

“He hurt his knee?” I asked.

“No! His WHOLE body! CRACK! He broke his whole body!”

I’ve heard many crazy old men tell many crazy stories, so I didn’t mind asking.

“Did he go to the hospital?”

“No! CRACK! It killed him! He was DEAD!”

Yep if your over forty, you’d better not get involved in that weight lifting. Just as any crazy old man.

To heck with crazy old men, and to heck with rude turds who don’t want to hear about my new passion for weight lifting when they ask me what’s new in my life.

I winked at the old man warning me about those 25lb plates and said: “That’s great!”

They’re my plates now, and my weight lifting routine gets better and better.

Educate yourself! (and happy new year!)

2012-01-03T15:03:00.000-08:00

There are so many great resources out there that will help you learn about diet and fitness! If you’re going to embark upon a new exercise program, you have the responsibility to know about the right and wrong way to do things.

There’s no excuse for doing things wrong. There’s just too much information about exercise on the internet, and at the library, and at the gym.

You can choose to be Tubby, (and yes, it’s a choice)

But you can’t wonder why you’re tubby.

So the search for information quickly became a part of my routine once I started to lift weights regularly. I found great books about weight lifting at the library.

Youtube was one of my greatest resources. There were endless videos about specific weight lifting exercises and techniques, and I quickly learned new exercises for my routine. I learned that squats and lunges were very important and should be added to my routine. I learned about rows and lawnmowers and kickbacks and pullovers and shrugs. All these exercises are FUN and they fill GREAT and they’ve made my routine more dynamic.

I learned from my library books that Olympic weight lifting exercises are great for my routine. They are explosive and good for the entire body. Yes, the people competing in the Olympics lift incredible amounts of weight, but when I do the same exercises with a more manageable amount of weight, several reps make my muscles burn and my heart pound. So I’ve added Cleans and presses and even Snatches, just because the name makes me giggle.

Diet education has changed everything for me as well. I listen to Dr. Oz. I don’t agree with everything I hear, but I listen for things I can try that will help. For example, I heard one doctor say that the best health advice he could give anyone is to start the day with a very large drink of water. He said that water should be the first thing that enters our bodies each day, and he was talking about a lot of water.

I can honestly say that drinking water first thing every day has changed my life. I feel better, and I eat better because of it. Now, some of the diet advice I hear just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe as I learn and continue to educate myself, my attitudes and habits will change. I’ll give anything a try. But I’m not ready to grouse through the underbrush for grubs yet.

Well, the time has come. I’m putting my money where my mouth is. You’re here to see if I’m really successful. So I’m putting up some pictures of myself doing my workout. I’m still tubby, but I’m making progress that I can see and feel.

Diets are for fit people!

2011-12-30T23:54:00.000-08:00

If you’re following this blog, you’ll see my progress as I go from tubby to fit. With this in mind you should know a little bit more about my diet and fitness goals.

When I started lifting weights, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t change a thing about my diet. I’m a fat middle aged guy and I have very few joys in life to look forward to. Eating is very important to me.

But exercising and weight lifting have changed my diet in ways that have amazed me. I’m learning that some life changes are spontaneous when you start doing healthy things, like say, exercise.

But again, I didn’t start lifting to become healthier or to lose weight or to look more fit. Those are all things that are happening to me, but they aren’t reasons for the workout. I work out with weights because it feels so good! I started lifting during a very stressful time in my life that blogged about earlier, and the weight lifting made me feel soo much better.

So with all that in mind, here are my new diet rules.

1. If you’re a cow, I’m going to eat you. That’s just the way it is. I love steak and other cow meats, and I’m not giving them up, for nobody or for no one.

2. If you’re a chicken you better be able to run faster than me at lunch time.

3. If you’re a pig, give it up for the bacon and the ribs! And save me a ham sandwich.

4.       Mrs. Hostess is calling. Can you hear her? “Ding dong, ding dong”
5.       Cola drinks are from God. Nothing that tastes that great and makes you feel that good could possibly be bad for you.
6.       Chocolate is, holy cow, it's just that, you see, we've just got to, especially dark chocolate. You know that one place at the mall that makes chocolates? We've just got to eat chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

Apart from those rules, I’ve had a very interesting diet experience that is the direct result of my weight lifting.

My desire to drink sodas is gone. I’m drinking more water instead. No one told me to do this, it’s just what my body craves.

I’m fine with just one cookie when cookies are offered. I don’t have to sneak and eat ten or twelve, and then blame the kids.

I don’t need late night snacks.

I don’t need seconds.

I take home a box of left overs when I eat out at restaurants (instead of finishing everyone else’s meal)

Meals don’t have to have dessert.

I could go on and on.

The point is, I’m eating healthier, and it’s spontaneous. My healthy body craves healthy eating habits.

I want to follow this post up with a new post about education, and I’ll do that next.

joining Technorati

2011-12-30T04:14:00.001-08:00

XQP4GDAYTE6A

I’m still tubby!

2011-12-30T03:37:00.000-08:00

In fact, I’m probably a little tubbier.

That’s okay, Christmas is a wonderful thing. Chocolate, roasts, chocolate, candies of all kinds, chocolate, casseroles, etc.

I’m certainly not going to be the one who abstains. So how do we reconcile our desire for physical fitness with the bounty of Christmas feasts?

We don’t. Who cares? I’m not exercising to lose weight or look better. I’m exercising because it feels so good. So I’m right back at it. Christmas isn’t a set back at all.

So let’s talk about some nuts and bolts. We were talking back a few posts about how I came across my son’s weight bench and weights and put it all together.

Now I’ve got a common weight bench and a barbell and a curl bar and some dumbbells. They’re all arranged in the corner of our storage room in our basement.

That’s all I need. I knew it from the beginning. I had everything I needed for a weight lifting experience.

Bench presses are the most obvious. The barbell rests permanently on the bench press rack and I keep as much weight on it as I can lift. I don’t move weights around from apparatus to apparatus, and I’ll explain why later. But bench presses are simple and straight forward and easy to figure out.

I had an easy curl bar. I love that bar. I keep it loaded up with as much weight as I can curl, but there’s something about that bar that inspires courage. When I feel like I can’t do any more exercise, I can always do more curls on that bar, and then I feel like I can move on to other exercises. I highly recommend an easy curl bar.

On the weight bench is a leg curl, or leg lift apparatus. I faithfully work my legs with that machine, though I’ve seen very little information about whether they are very good machines or not.

Finally, I have dumbbells. If you can get no other weight apparatus, get dumbbells. You can do almost any exercise with dumbbells that you can do with a barbell. Dumbbells are less stable than barbells and therefore make you work harder to steady them. In short, dumbbells are great. Even if you only have one dumbbell, there are countless exercises you can do with it.

Later we’ll talk about exactly what exercises I’m doing, and with how much weight.

Why don’t I go to the gym?

2011-12-15T12:04:00.001-08:00

It’s a good question.

There’s some philosophical thinking in the answer to this question.

To start, I have to say that I absolutely WILL go to the gym soon. My weight lifting experience has evolved to the point where I really would like some guidance from an expert.

But there are problems at that gym. At least for some of us. The atmosphere and attitude at the gym can be off setting. There are people at the gym who are very successful and ambitious about their workouts. It can be intimidating. I know that we shouldn’t judge ourselves against others, but it can really take away your appetite.

I will say that I believe that once you jump in, the discomfort will dissipate, and you’ll feel right at home. At least I hope that’s how it will be, because I intend to find out.

But for others of us, the expense, the travel time, the inconvenience, all are reasons for us to seek fitness in our own homes. It was certainly this way for me. I was facing extreme financial challenges when I began my workout program. I didn’t even buy new weights, as I explained in an earlier post. Since I had no agenda, no goal of health or fitness, I relished the privacy of that little corner of our basement storage room. My workout was strictly my own, and I made all the rules.

This manner of working out on my own became a magical experience. I’ll talk later about how I learned more about weight lifting and how my routine evolved, but I’ll say here that I was immediately amazed at how the work I was doing intuitively turned out very close to what many trainers would have told me to do. That is very significant to me.

From the very start, I’ve done exactly what seemed to feel right and feel good. I’ve challenged myself, but I haven’t’ sought to kill myself. I’ve tried to maintain a level of work and heart rate, I’ve tried to stretch and warm up and I’ve kept myself hydrated. I’ve notice if a particular exercise bothered a joint or muscle or tendon, and I’ve moved those exercises to a different slot in the lineup. In only a couple of weeks I had a really good workout program and list of exercises that I liked to do. I would sweat like a pig and my heart pounded in my chest. It felt really, really good.

We’ll go into detail about my actual workout next.

But the point here is that I accomplished a truly satisfying and effective working in a corner of a storage room in the privacy of my own home with second hand weights.

Yes, I’d like better equipment and a larger space for my exercise. Yes, I’m going to go to the gym and seek some expert training.

All this will be documented as a part of this blog, as will my trip to the doctor for medical advice. The message I hope to convey is that you, the tubby middle aged person, can challenge your tubbiness, become more fit, look better, feel better, and have lots and lots of fun in the process.

Results

2011-12-14T11:59:00.001-08:00

This seems like a funny place to talk about results, since I just told about my introduction to working out with free weights. We’ll talk frequently about results, but there are some fairly immediate results I experienced that need to be mentioned.

I’m going to say this so many times that it’s going to seem crazy, but the first good result that came from my free weight workout routine is that it was fun, and it felt great. And I’m not talking about the good feeling you get from accomplishing a difficult goal. I’m talking about back rub good, and hot tub good.

I feel like a weight lifter. I have a hobby that is making me more fit every day. Even after a very short time working out with the weights, I began to notice results. My double chin started to go away. My arms started to grow and define. My shoulders got bigger.

One thing that didn’t change right away is my belly. That took some know-how. We’ll talk about that later.

But remember, I didn’t get involved in lifting weights so that I could lose my belly. I didn’t it because it was fun and it felt good.

Very soon after I started I could bound up the stairs without huffing and puffing. I could get off the couch without straining. My posture immediately improved. I no longer lean on grocery carts. I stand up straight and push them.

My diet changed. That will be an entire blog entry by itself. But my cravings for certain things vanished, and my tendency to over eat went away.

My stress level dropped. I was happier. I didn’t worry about things. I had more focus.

Of course, there were negative results as well. No one wants to hear a pudgy middle-aged man talk about his new found enthusiasm for weight lifting, and I was excited to talk about it. I had to come to grips about the way the world sees tubby middle aged men, and that’s another blog entry too.

Next we’ll talk about how I learned the nuts and bolts and technical procedures of weight lifting. It’s all about education.

What happened next! The ball gets rolling.

2011-12-13T07:20:00.000-08:00

I’ve been brave about putting up “before” pictures. I hope they will be of some use. Soon I will be posting “during” picture of my workouts, and also some video.

But, onto what happened next:

Everything that has happened since that day when I put together that old weight bench has been intuitive. I have executed exercise and workouts that felt right. I have done it all in a manner, timeline, and schedule that simply felt right.

That first day was so much fun that I decided to continue in that theme. I would only workout for fun and pleasure. Everything I did had to fit that mold. Funny how everything worked out to be in line with what experts would have told me to do anyway.

I learned that the “burn” that resulted from my workouts lasted for two days, so I resolved to work out every other day.

I start to consider my equipment. I had a standard bench with a leg lift thingy attachment. I had a barbell, and a curl bar, and two dumbbells. I liked moving quickly from one exercise to another. Dumbbell curls to bench presses to dumbbell presses to curls with the curl bar. Right away I noticed that it was annoying to have to change the weight plates on the bars every time I switched exercises. So I started shopping for more weight plates.

In my community there is a chain of thrift stores called Deseret Industries. The “D.I.” for short. You mostly find clothing at the D.I., but they have an “outdoor” section where you can find gardening equipment and sporting goods. I’m always on the lookout for weights and weight lifting equipment. I’ve been able to find plates that match my set. Now I have the weight I need on each apparatus without having to change between sets. As the amounts I’m lifting increases, I shop for more weights.

If there was only one weight lifting apparatus that I could recommend it would be a set of dumbbells. Any exercise with dumbbells is great! And most barbell exercises can be done with dumbbells in an very similar execution. Dumbbells are unstable, so they promote balance and grip. When you work with dumbbells, you immediately get a sense of accomplishment.

I like my curl bar because it is very straight-forward. Whenever I’m feeling like my workout is overwhelming, I move to sets of curls on the curl bar. It’s stable and easy to work with. I crank out a set and start to feel like I can continue with my routine.

We’ll talk later about specific parts of my workout equipment.

After the first few days of my program I was becoming a true weight lifter, and I had a definite workout program.

FREE WEIGHTS! This post is about free weights.

2011-12-12T15:17:00.000-08:00

Searching for exercise equipment felt right until my friend Dan called one night to chat. I told him my story and how I felt the urge to exercise. Dan said that my idea was all wrong because I have a finished basement and carport. I have no place to stash exercise equipment where I can’t see it.

Dan was right. I was kidding myself. I had no real interest in cables and pulleys and whirring machines.

Then one day I was cleaning out my garage when I came across my son’s old weight bench. I pulled it out, dusted it off, and set it up.

I put together the dumbbells and the barbell with different amounts of weights. I started experimenting and playing around. Suddenly I was having a ball! I was alone so I wasn’t trying to kill myself to impress anyone.

I tried different amounts of weight on each apparatus until the exercises really felt good.

I played around with the weights and the bench for about an hour. I didn’t know anything about weight lifting exercises, but I tried everything that seemed obvious. After I was finished I felt really great. I really had fun. I knew that I had discovered a new hobby.

The next day I still felt great. I could really feel a burning in my muscles, but I wasn’t aching or in pain as I have been in the past when I’ve worked out too vigorously. I just felt a chill and a glow all over. I cleaned out a corner of a storage room in our basement, and set the weigh bench up permanently.

I was on my way.

I didn’t work out the second day because of the time it took me to get everything set up. But the following day, I thought about working out as soon as I woke up. I looked at my day’s schedule and found my free half hour and actually felt excited about my upcoming workout.

We’ll talk about how the process developed next.

Job stress!

2011-12-11T22:51:00.000-08:00

My story continues....
After my humiliating on the track at the ball field, I resolved to improve. And I did improve, little by little. I went to the track every time I could, at least every other day, and I kept track of how far I ran. Each time it was a little farther. Each time there were smiles and giggles from the other runners.
"Hey look! The fat guy's running again!"
They might not have actually said it, but they were thinking it.
After a few months I was jogging like a pro. It felt great. I couldn't run for miles like other joggers, but I could go around that track a few times. Yes, I had to stop frequently and walk, but each time was better.
Funny thing though, I didn't lose weight or size. I felt great, I knew I was improving my health, but my size remained the same.
Like many ventures into the world of exercise, mine ended after little more than a year. More and more reasons kept popping up to keep me from the track, and I found a great new burger place, and the couch seemed to miss me.

So now the real story begins.
Flash forward to this year.
My daughter married her boyfriend in January. Beautiful occasion, but very stressful. My daughter and I were very close, and it was hard to see her go.
My weight had become a real concern.
At work the atmosphere was oppressive.
One day I wore tight slacks to work. They hurt my kidneys. I didn't wear tight slacks because I thought it was stylish, I wore them because I was too cheep to buy new slacks after gaining more weight.
That day, that terrible tight slacks day, my boss called me into his office.
He was unhappy with me in many horrible, personal ways. It was like a nightmare. Our little chat was humiliating, insulting, and terrifying.
How would I support my family if I lost my job?
I knew my weight made me look even more pathetic.
The issues with my boss were resolved, but the tension at work remained.
It was killing me.
At home, my wife and family were very supportive. We talked a lot about what we could and what we should do.
One of the things I absolutely craved was physical activity. My wife suggested I go for walks. It didn't help.
I started browsing the sporting good stores for exercise equipment.
It was then that I made a discover that would change my life.
We'll talk about that next.

My Story:

2011-12-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

So....

I guess I haven't always been tubby.
There were times in my youth when I was absolutely fit and athletic.
Then I got married and had a family and discovered couch sitting and Fatboy ice cream sandwiches.
Tubbyness creeps up on you without notice.
But one day, there it is, in the bathroom mirror after a shower.
You're repulsed.
You're nauseated.
You want to cry.
You stand sideways and suck in your gut. You stand taller and suck in your gut. You hold very still, smile, and suck in your gut.
But there's no hiding from the truth.
And the truth is fat.
A few years ago, I was more than just tubby. I was stressed. Trouble at work, trouble at home, lot's of problems. Finally one day I had an experience that many folks my age have had.
Crushing chest pains. Brought me right to my knees. Thought I was dying.
The doctor put me through ever imagineable test.
GOOD NEWS! My heart was fine. But I was still tubby. My doctor warned me that without a significant loss of weight, my heart would someday have problems.
What to do? I thought a lot about it.
Near my home was a ball field with a mile long track around the perimeter. I thought that walking would be a good idea. So I went and walked.
But other people were running. It occurred to me that running and jogging were what fit and healthy people did, and I decided that running might save my life. So I picked up my knees and started to jog.
That lasted about twenty yards. My knees hurt, my chest hurt, and my back ached. I was out of breath and thought I was going to passout.
Twenty yards.
I was passed by a little old grandma. She laughed at me. All the people who passed me sniggered. I felt great pressure to do better.
To be continued.........

I really was a middle aged tub of lard!

2011-12-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

I probably still am.
I saw a friend at a recent high school event. Like me, this friend was there supporting his high school kids.
My friend is a career military man, and he's in top physical form! I commented to my wife that my goal is to look like Troy one day. She told me that she understood my goal, but she pointed out that Troy has ALWAYS been in top physical shape, and I've been tubby since the mid nineties.
It's going to take some time.
Exercise programs on tv tell me that I can get "ripped" in just a few weeks.
Maybe.
But what I've been learning this year is another way.
What I've been doing has changed my life in many ways. My experience is permanent. I'm not punishing myself, I'm rewarding myself. I still have some bad habits to overcome, but my motivation is more clear every day.
My body is changing, my priorities are changing, my schedule is changing, and the way I live my life is changing. I've been excited and happy about life again. Even through some really hard trials this year, my new experience has made me feel like things are going my way.

I'm going to explain it all, and with pictures and videos. This probably isn't an program you can follow, but I'll bet that what I've discovered can TRULY inspire you.